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Designing luxury retail for young men

June 12, 2008

Design Week: Credit crunch or not, luxury seems here to stay. And while the world chooses to turn a blind eye to hedge fund managers and energy oligarchs' increasingly avaricious demand for ever finer and more conspicuous trophies of their power, luxury is also being dissipated into other social groups. "Premiumisation," or the advent of minor luxuries in all categories, from toilet paper to supermarket ready meals, is now well documented and almost taken for granted. But there are still some areas where it is only just making inroads.

Young men, for instance. Resistant to any too-obviously pre-packaged trends, males between 18 and 28 have always presented marketers, designers and advertisers with their biggest challenge. And yet they are living in the same culture in which luxury and celebrity are conjoined, whether on MTV or in a magazine, as almost the only worthwhile currency. But finding a way to offer these young males a luxurious experience and exclusivity without alienating them is far from simple - aping Hermes' kid glove-wearing assistants in Seoul, for instance, just won't wash. And the word "boutique" will have them running a mile.

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